Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) Trading Down 2.3% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Applied Materials' stock declined by 2.3%, trading around $158.56, with a significant drop in trading volume compared to its average.
• Analysts hold mixed views: Goldman Sachs set a "buy" rating with a target price of $225, while others like Wall Street Zen downgraded to a "hold" with lower targets.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.46, reflecting an annual yield of 1.1% and a payout ratio of 21.93%.

Applied Materials, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) fell 2.3% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $157.94 and last traded at $158.56. 3,297,874 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 7,398,258 shares. The stock had previously closed at $162.22.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AMAT. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $215.00 to $205.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Rothschild & Co Redburn downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $200.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Monday, July 7th. DZ Bank downgraded shares of Applied Materials from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Applied Materials from $195.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 15th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $193.88.

Applied Materials Stock Up 2.5%

The business's fifty day moving average price is $183.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $166.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.42 billion, a PE ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.70.

Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The manufacturing equipment provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.36 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $7.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $7.21 billion. Applied Materials had a net margin of 23.88% and a return on equity of 41.31%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.12 earnings per share. Applied Materials has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.910-2.310 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Applied Materials, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Applied Materials Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 21st will be issued a $0.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 21st. This represents a $1.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Applied Materials's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.93%.

Insider Transactions at Applied Materials

In other news, CAO Adam Sanders sold 562 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.60, for a total value of $100,373.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 5,300 shares in the company, valued at $946,580. This represents a 9.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Applied Materials

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of AMAT. Eagle Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Eagle Capital Management LLC now owns 16,004 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,603,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,674 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $2,061,000 after acquiring an additional 2,771 shares during the last quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. boosted its position in Applied Materials by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. Value Partners Investments Inc. now owns 9,896 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $1,608,000 after acquiring an additional 793 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC boosted its position in Applied Materials by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 23,793 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $3,870,000 after acquiring an additional 8,462 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Analog Century Management LP boosted its position in Applied Materials by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Analog Century Management LP now owns 364,803 shares of the manufacturing equipment provider's stock worth $59,328,000 after acquiring an additional 52,258 shares during the last quarter. 80.56% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Applied Materials

Applied Materials, Inc engages in the provision of manufacturing equipment, services, and software to the semiconductor, display, and related industries. The company operates through three segments: Semiconductor Systems, Applied Global Services, and Display and Adjacent Markets. The Semiconductor Systems segment develops, manufactures, and sells various manufacturing equipment that is used to fabricate semiconductor chips or integrated circuits.